We
must have been exhausted from the hike in, because we set the tone for
our trip by sleeping in late. Once up however, we made quick progress
towards getting on the river, with only a few in the group giving the
campsite slide a good look. The entrance and line looked decent, but a
log in the run-out looked like a head hunter. Ben decided it had enough
height to duck it, and fired off a nice wake-up slide.

Probably
awake by now, Ben
Stookesberry runs a manky one..

Ducking
the log, which went better
than it looks like it
would.

Only a short bit of mank had to be endured before
the
river started
turning into every expedition kayakers dream, big drops in gorgeous
scenery.

Eric
Seymour runs the first clean
slide.

Gary
Edgeworth below the drop with a
“hell yeah
we’re in the good shit now” sign.

A little log dodging action led around the next corner, to the
confluence with Palisade Creek and some truly
epic scenery.

Forrest
Noble soaks in what the Middle
Kings has to offer.

Besides great scenery, this spot also offered up one of the marquee
drops of the Middle Kings, Squeeze play. It’s a narrow
twenty footer, and the water must be at least ten feet deep as it pours
over the lip.

It
also has a big hole and undercut,
and even larger run out rapid.

The rest of us portaged down the right, where we
ran some
nice boogie
water down to yet another horizon line. Ben gave us the beta on this
one, a shallow eight footer onto a slab. The ideal line was down the
middle, getting your bow up a little but not boofing. Ben then
disappeared over the horizon, and I followed, letting my bow drop and
getting a nice transition. The next person behind me boofed too much,
and his foul words inspired the rest of the group to portage on the
right.

Ben
said every time he does this run
people always end up portaging it
after the first few run it, so he has always missed getting video of
it, as I did getting a photo. Maybe next time.

Next
up we had a handful of nice
slides with the ever present epic
scenery. Gary Edgeworth enjoys the view.

Jason Stingl runs the same.

The mellower slides lead into the last un-run
slide on the
Middle
Kings. We all started portaging down the left, except for Ben, who
started giving it a good look. He had been talking about it during the
whole shuttle, trying to talk Chris or myself into saying we might run
it. One quick look at it while walking by didn’t peak my
interest.

In some ways so simple, and others complex, a
thirty to
forty foot
slide with massive rooster tails. Gary said it looked like “a
can of crushed ass” but Ben continued to give it a good long
scout while we ate lunch. After considerable time scouting, he decided
there was a line around the first rooster, and that it transitioned
through the second rooster tail. We all get our media equipment and
throw ropes ready as Ben hiked back up to his boat.

Ben lines up an
intimidating first descent. Just look at
the rooster tail at the bottom!

Straight
away through the slide.

Ben said the whole thing was smooth, and dubbed the drop
“butter buns” as we headed down river.Take
away the length,
wilderness setting and scenery of the Middle
Kings and it would still be an awesome river just for the amount of
quality whitewater it contains.

Jason
Stingl enjoying all of it on the
Middle King’s
signature Money Drop.

Forrest
Noble with Eric Seymour
shooting.

Downstream
view from the same spot,
ever impressive canyons on the
Middle Kings.

More slides to enjoy, Rolf Kelly and Eric Seymour.

Corey
Boux below
a long boulder garden and heading into a steep section of ledges.

The
next section might just be the
steepest and most often run hard
section of the Middle Kings. At medium to low flows the ledges aren't
too bad, but they are significant and sticky as flows increase.

Note
how the size of the boulders puts
everything in perspective, we
are on a small scale in this place. Corey Boux

Did someone say sticky?

Justin Pat about to exit the ledges act one.

Eric Seymour boofs over yet another big hole in ledges act two.

Looking upstream at the same drop as the previous two photos, Ben
on the last of it.

While Gary and I got back
in our boats, Ben scouted the
“Devil’s Washbowl” slide, a two hundred
foot long high speed slide with a big pothole in the center. Coming
back up, Ben told Gary and I the line, starting right and moving left
over the crack, and finishing left. As Daniel said, you can only run it
blind once!

Steeper than it looks from most angles.

The Rooster Tail and Justin Pat

Besides the beauty of the canyon and epic Washbowl slide, a tributary
cascades down, seemingly from nowhere.

With what may be the best day of whitewater on the Middle Kings behind us, we
settle down to mellow evening in the perfect setting at the top of the
Devi's Washbowl Slide.